Monday, October 8, 2007

Goals: Part 1

Low key weekend. Last weeks efforts left me with a nagging head cold that I've been unable to shake. I got out on the bike once and managed to shake my fears that I would forget how to remount. The true test will be when I'm shoulder to shoulder with 124 other Cat 4's. This weekend will be ridiculous.

And since nothing brings on motivation like being sick (and thus having an excuse to not act upon that motivation) I've been pondering some goal setting. It is, after all, all the rage.

Mounts/Dismounts:While it is true that thanks to Mark McCormack I finally can remount the bike, it has yet to be race proven. I'd like to remounting without a stutter-step 100% of the time by the end of the season. Similarly I would like to be able to be 100% comfortable with the 2 step, 4 step, 4 step routine for the double barriers, such that I'm always jumping off of, and landing on, the same foot.

Upgrade:I would like to gather the points to upgrade to a 3 from a 4. This should be attainable, considering I actually get my ass out of bed early enough to race in the 4's, and am also succesful at the next goal, which is:

Strong StartsYeah, I've only raced two races, and yeah, the second race was a 3/4 that I had no business being in so I sheepishly lined up at the back of the group for a 50 foot coast to a stop, but the only way to get top 10 finishes is to seal the deal in the first two laps, which means a solid start. At Bedford I was caught in the pile up in the first turn, and left the carnage in last place, at which point i made up about half the field to get into 19th. Looking at the results I was 30 seconds out of the top 10, something I totally could've closed. This also means being at the line 25 minutes before the gun, and being (be - be) agressive.

Tokyo Drift:Cause how do you corner, anyway?

And the requisite "reach" goal:would probably be a top 50% finish in the 3/4. I figure that since the long trail killed all my bike fitness, and I'm likely not going to gain much in the next two months given my work/school schedule, this is a bit of a reach.